News

After 5 years, the MyNewGut project has officially come to an end at the end of November 2018. The consortium celebrated the project findings during their final conference on 18 October 2018 where the partners provided clear evidence that:

• Bacterial strains in our gut could be the next generation of probiotics
• Consuming an excess of proteins generates some toxic metabolites
• Diets rich in fibres are associated with fewer symptoms of depression, help to maintain body weight and reduce the risk of developing chronic metabolic diseases
• A high fat diet may have a negative impact on the gut microbiota and the brain
• The gut microbiota influences metabolic health

For a complete overview of the project outcomes:

Watch the video recordings from the final conference

Read our final conference summary document

Have a look at our most recent leaflet

Read the lay-language summary

We would like to thank all of our fellow gut-lovers for the support over the last 5 years!

Despite coming to an end, the microbiome legacy continues with new Horizon2020 funded projects such as MicrobiomeSupport, a Coordination and Support Action which aims to support R&I alignment globally and  has the objective to provide standardised methods for microbiome research in the whole food system. 

Further, partners will be involved in a number of Innovation and R&I Actions which have just been started or are due to be started (websites are all in development and not available yet). Keep an eye out for partners in:

• CIRCLES
• HoloBiont
• MASTERS
• SIMBA
• SYSCID
• Eat2beNICE
• Oncobiome
• Microb-predict
• GEMMA

Farewell for now and see you soon again as we follow up with other research continued elsewhere!

On Thursday 18^th October 2018, EUFIC hosted the MyNewGut final conference at the Stanhope Hotel in Brussels. The conference marked the culmination of the project, which over the last five years investigated the gut microbiome to prevent diet-related and behavioural disorders. The event was attended by around 120 participants, including representatives from the European Commission, project partners and interested stakeholders.

The main aim of the conference was to bring all consortium partners together and present the ground-breaking results of five years of research. The results showed that the influence of the gut microbiota on health is complex. Many factors such as proteins, fats and fibre all have different impacts on the microbiome and its metabolites depending on the food source and quantity. Further, the gut microbiome also influences gut health, affects cognitive function and the incidence of depression. The project outcomes are expected to support new dietary recommendations to guide consumers towards healthier food choices such as high intake of different fibre types, choosing polyunsaturated fats (seeds, nuts, fish) over saturated fat and being cautious in utilising high-protein diets on the long-term for weight loss.

The event was inaugurated with a keynote speech by Barend Verachtert, Head of Agri-Food Chain Unit of DG Research & Innovation, EC, who made a powerful statement ’Scientific research is useless without empowerment of the community in his talk about the EC’s FOOD2030 initiative. Next, Dirk Hadrich, Innovative and Personalised Medicine Unit, Health Directorate, DG Research & Innovation, EC, provided more in-depth information about funding human microbiome research in the European Union (EU). The first session concluded with project coordinator, Yolanda Sanz, giving an overview of the main project achievements.

The second session focused on ‘Microbiome-diet interactions in obesity and eating behaviour’, with Francois Blachier from INRA, France, talking about High-Protein Diets (HPD). Max Nieuwdorp from AMC, The Netherlands, then discussed what matters in metabolic health – microbes, metabolites or both. Next, Patrizia Brigidi from UNIBO, Italy, compared obese and lean gut microbiota before Sandrine Claus form UREAD, UK, closed the session with a talk on personal metabolic responses to diet.

In the third session ‘Gut-brain axis: A new route for programming health and mood’, three keynote speakers took the lead. First, Catherine Stanton from UCC, Ireland, talked about the impact of microbiota on the immune system of children followed by Cristina Campoy from UGR, Spain, who spoke about factors influencing the gut microbiome in infant studies, whereas Peter Holzer from MUG, Austria, concluded the session with a talk on the impact of a high fat diet on the gut and on mental health.

The focus of the fourth session was on ‘Translating microbiome science into applications.’ The three keynote speakers were Nathalie Delzenne from UCL, Belgium, explaining the dietary fibre impact on gut microbiota and the role of DDP-4 on the gut-liver axis, next Ted Dinan from UCC, Ireland, talked about psychobiotics and stress resilience, followed by, Thomas Meinert Larsen from UCPH, Denmark, who explained a study which is submitted for publication on prebiotic supplementation.  

Two keynote speakers covered the fifth session of the day on ‘Implications of microbiome science for public health’. Namely, Jan-Willem van der Kamp from TNO, The Netherlands, provided insight into microbiome-informed dietary guidelines on proteins and fats, as well as dietary fibre intake recommendations. Finally, Ted Dinan in a second talk concluded on the role of microbiota in major depression suggesting potential treatment recommendations within the gut microbiome.

The closing session was chaired by project coordinator Yolanda Sanz speaking words of thanks to all attendees and partners of the consortium. The final presentation of the day was held by Carina Pereira from DG Research & Innovation, EC, highlighting the next steps towards a climate-smart and sustainable food system for a healthy Europe.

You can find the speakers presentations below:

• Barend Verachtert - 'Food 2030: Research and innovation for food and nutrition security'. Download here
• Dirk Hadrich - 'Funding human microbiome research in the EU'. Download here
• Yolanda Sanz - 'MyNewGut: Overview of the main project achievements'. Download here
• Francois Blachier - 'Dietary proteins: Goodness and warning for weight management'. Download here
• Max Nieuwdorp - 'What matters to metabolic health: Microbes, metabolites or both?'. Download here
• Patrizia Brigidi - 'Gut microbiome as predictors of obesity and addictive-eating behaviour'. Download here
• Catherine Stanton - 'Impact of early life factors on the devloping gut microbiota and the stress response'. Download here
• Cristina Campoy - 'Diet, microbiota and neurodevelopment'. Download here
• Peter Holzer - 'Diet, microbiota and emotional behaviour'. Download here
• Nathalie Delzenne, UCL, Belgium - 'Understanding specificities of fibre-microbiome interactions: how can this help?'. Download here
• Ted Dinan - 'Developing a psychobiotic for stress'. Download here
• Ted Dinan - 'Feeding melancholic microbes'. Download here
• Carina Pereira - 'Next steps towards a climate-smart and sustainable food system for a healthy Europe'. Download here

The Human Microbiome Symposium was held at EMBL in Heidelberg. 

 The following MyNewGut partner presentations were given during the event:

The key objective of the Summit is to explore how to tackle all forms of malnutrition by increasing the availability and affordability of safe and nutritious foods for all on a sustainable basis. The MyNewGut project coordinator Dr Yolanda Sanz of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) particpated in the workshop.

Download the programme booklet here.